As an example of what I do, for those of you who import from China, be prepared to have all your orders delayed by at least 2 to 3 weeks, possibly as long as 6 weeks. Why? Well, China is having the coldest winter they have ever experienced in over 100 years, and electricity is in short supply as about 99% of their electric plants are coal fired and the humongous snowstorms they have experienced in the last several weeks have shut down the rail transport of coal from the mines to the power plants. When the power plants start their rotating power cut-offs, plants that produce military goods will be highest on the list, then clothing manufacturers who have big contracts with companies like Wal-Mart will be next. Poor little CE companies manufacturing your products will be at the bottom of the list. And I can assure you none of your Chinese vendors have informed you of this, yet. This is why I only consult for a few, select companies who actually understand what this means and have the expertise and wherewithal to develop contingency plans. For those of you low on the totem pole, what are YOUR contingency plans? And if you have a major product rollout based on getting a new Chinese-manufactured product in your inventory chain in then next few weeks, I would advise you to bend way over and kiss your little (or big) butt goodbye.

Hey man....thanks for the heads up on this.....in fact this problem you mention in China is not limited to the CE market....the IE market is going to suffer worse...(Industrial Electronics) The CM's (Contract Manufacturers) and the Fab shops (PCB Printer Circuit Board Manufacturers) that are all involved in building products for Telecom, Medical and other products are all going to be delayed....and basically everyone who thought that ASIA was the answer because of pricing ....well now what happened to your back-up plan?
Ooops no back up plan: Nortel, ATT, Lucent, Cisco....and especially all the smaller ones. Most of them will miss their 1st and 2nd quarter shipping targets because of this....and it's not just China...all of Canada is on the brink of an evironmental challenge. Here in Montreal we have already had almost 40% more snow than a "normal" FULL winter season and yet we are only half way through the season! We will most certainly break every record for snowfall in 100 years. This global warming stuff is a big problem now....and I feel for the poor people in the southern US that have seen the worst Tornados ever!